The Pennsylvania School Boards Solicitors Association honored Peacock Keller Partner Barbara A. Graham with its President’s Award for Distinguished Career Achievement at the Solicitors Association School Law Workshop in Hershey, PA.  The award honors a school solicitor who has contributed to Pennsylvania school law through achievement at the highest level of professional accomplishment, and has donated energy and talent to the Association, its members and Pennsylvania public schools. 

“Barbara Graham exemplifies the highest ethical standards as a school solicitor while aggressively representing school districts,” said fellow Partner Ken Baker. “Her efforts to help the school boards she represents achieve their goals to provide an excellent education to each and every one of their students, is well known and well respected.  Her willingness to share her knowledge, experience, expertise and skills is unparalleled."

Ms. Graham has dedicated 28 years to serving as a school district solicitor in Allegheny, Washington and Greene Counties, as well as special counsel to many other school entities throughout southwestern Pennsylvania.  She served as the Solicitors Association’s President in 1996 and continues to provide informative legal presentations for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and other educational service organizations.

“I am truly honored, and humbled, to receive this award, but could not have had the career I have had without the support of my parents, my siblings, my husband and children, and the partners in my Firm, particularly, Reed Day, Bob Crothers, Ken Baker and Mary Gail Korsmeyer,” said Ms. Graham.  “I have been fortunate to be a member of this Association and to have benefitted greatly through the years from the collegiality of many of its members.”

Ms. Graham focuses her practice on school law and employment law.  She often speaks to local governmental officials, school boards, and public school teachers and is a frequent lecturer for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.  She has also lectured to high school students on a number of legal issues. She is a member of the American, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County and Washington County Bar Associations.

Susan Key recently lectured at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s program “Fundamentals of Estate Administration.” She addressed the probate process and non-probate issues.

Ken Baker has become a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington Symphony Orchestra.

Barbara Graham was a presenter at the Pennsylvania School Solicitor’s Annual Summer Symposium. Her topic was “Keeping Boards above Board.”

Rachel Lozosky has been nominated, and is a finalist for the Washington County Chamber of Commerce Athena award. The Athena lunch will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn, Southpointe.

Ken Baker and Don Formoso presented  a continuing legal education program at the Washington County Bench Bar Conference titled “Nuts & Bolts of Estate Planning: Common Drafting Errors.”

Rick Amrhein participated in a panel discussion on financial and estate planning for beyond retirement sponsored by his local council of the Knight of Columbus Association 

Susan Key was honored by the Washington County Chamber of Commerce for her six years of service on the Board of Directors, and for serving as Past Chairperson.

Peacock Keller was a finalist for the Small Employer category for the “Best Places to Work in Washington County” contest, sponsored by the Washington County Chamber of Commerce.

Ken Baker co-taught a course at California University of Pennsylvania on Planned Giving Tools for the Law School for Non-Profit Organizations at the Convocation Center at the University. Ken also was a presenter on Charitable Gift Annuities to the Trustees of the Washington County Community Foundation.

Charles Keller received the John L. S. Northrop Vocational Service Award from the Washington PA Rotary Club. The John L. S. Northrop Vocational Service Award was created to recognize an individual who adheres to and promotes the highest ethical standards in his/her occupation. The honor included a $1,000.00 grant to a charity of the recipient’s choice; Chuck chose the Rotary Foundation Peace Program.

Peacock Keller, a full-service law firm in Washington, Pa., will sponsor its 6th Annual “Off The Shelf…A Celebration of Books” charity event on Sept. 18, 2013, to support libraries in Pennsylvania’s Washington, Greene and Fayette counties. The fundraiser will feature a presentation by Keith Bellows, the Editor and Chief of National Geographic Traveler magazine, and will take place from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn Pittsburgh/Southpointe in Canonsburg, Pa.

This year’s “Off The Shelf” theme is travel, which with the written word, fills the shelves of public libraries and resonates throughout history, defining people and cultures. Each table at the fundraiser will choose a book about travel and decorate their table accordingly – as part of a larger contest. Table decorating will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the day of the event, with an impartial panel of judges evaluating each table thereafter. Cocktail hour will begin at 6 p.m., providing attendees an opportunity to inspect Chinese auction items. Participants will also be able to support their favorite tables by donating to the “People’s Choice Award.” In addition to the Chinese auction, a live auction will be held during the event. Dinner will follow at 7 p.m., with Bellows taking the podium at 8 p.m.

“Each year the attorneys and staff of Peacock Keller look forward to supporting our local libraries through our Off The Shelf celebration,” said Doug Nolin, Peacock Keller Managing Partner and Master of Ceremonies. “We are proud of the success this event has brought for the libraries over the years. We know the benefits the libraries have on our communities and believe it is important to give them our support.”

Since the event’s inception, Peacock Keller has raised more than $130,000 for the Washington, Greene and Fayette County libraries through Off The Shelf with all proceeds going towards the creation and maintenance of a Regional “One-Card” Network. The “One-Card” Network ensures that every resident may go to any library in the three-county region while only using one library card, increasing convenience and accessibility for library customers while facilitating cost savings and efficiencies for the library system.

Sponsorship opportunities are available and live and Chinese auction items are being collected. Individual tickets can be purchased for $75 or tables of eight can be purchased for $600. Corporate tables can also be purchased for $1,000. To support literacy in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties or to learn more about the Off the Shelf event, contact a local library, call 724-222-4520 or visit www.peacockkeller.com/offtheshelf.

About Peacock Keller – Peacock Keller, located in Washington County, is among the largest and longest established full-service law firms in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The firm provides corporate and individual clients with experienced and knowledgeable legal services at affordable rates, helping to solve legal problems while avoiding future legal issues. Peacock Keller attorneys provide mediation services and sound legal counsel in the areas of business, corporate and nonprofit law; civil, insurance and medical malpractice litigation; coal, oil, gas, shale gas, mineral and energy law; construction law; elder law; employment law; estate administration and planning; guardianship; hospital law; personal injury; real estate law; and school law. To learn about the firm, visit www.peacockkeller.com.

FOR BACKGROUND: KEITH BELLOWS BIOGRAPHY

Keith Bellows is the senior vice president and editor-in-chief of National Geographic Travel Media and the editor-in-chief of National Geographic Traveler. Traveler is the world’s most widely read travel magazine and the category’s No. 1 performer on U.S. newsstands.

Under Bellow’s stewardship, the magazine has been nominated for two National Magazine Awards, won more than 60 Lowell Thomas Awards for best travel writing (it has been named best magazine eight of his 15 years as the editor), and 10 Folio Awards for Best Travel Magazine. In 2011 he was named as the winner of NATJA’s inaugural “Spirit of Kalliope Award” for overall achievement in travel journalism. 

Prior to joining National Geographic, Bellows launched BabyCenter.com as its creative director; was the executive producer of Excite.com; and was founding partner of WestWorld Media. He created and edited more than 30 magazines for Whittle Communications; and has written for Esquire, Sports Illustrated, Parenting, AARP, and many other magazines. He also wrote The Canuck Book and the 1998 Winter Olympics ACCESS Guide for ABC-TV. His book, 100 Places That Can Change Your Child’s Life, will be published in February 2013.

Bellows is a graduate of Gordonstoun School (Scotland) and Dartmouth College. He lectures extensively around the world and his more than 200 television appearances include the TODAY Show, Good Morning America, and a regular segment on National Geographic Today.

The Washington County Bar Association has honored Peacock Keller Partner Kenneth L. Baker with its Robert L. Ceisler Professionalism Award. The award recognizes attorneys who exemplify the Working Rules of Professionalism and who strive to encourage other attorneys, particularly those who are newer to the practice of law, to do the same. Mr. Baker, who has practiced law with full-service Washington, Pa. firm Peacock Keller for more than three decades, is a well-known estate lawyer and longtime solicitor for the Washington County School District and the Citizens Library of Washington.

“Ken is not only a superb lawyer who adheres to the highest ethical standards, but a valued mentor to the firm’s associates and other, less seasoned, members of the bar,” said Peacock Keller Managing Partner Douglas R. Nolin. “We are privileged to count Ken among our distinguished partners and proud of his outstanding contributions to our profession.”

In conjunction with the Professionalism Award – named for Robert L. Ceisler, who set the standard for excellence in professionalism and spent most of his career mentoring less experienced lawyers – a donation will be made in Mr. Baker’s name to the Washington County Law Library to update the legal ethics guide, “Legal Ethics: The Lawyer’s Deskbook on Professional Responsibility.” 

“I am humbled that the Bar Association has chosen to recognize me with its Professionalism Award,” said Mr. Baker. “I believe it is incumbent upon all attorneys to observe the strictest ethical standards, and to give back to our profession by helping fellow practitioners do the same. I am both proud and grateful to belong to a law firm and a bar association that share these beliefs.”

A former attorney for the Judge Advocate General Corps of the U.S. Army, he focuses his practice on estate planning and administration, real property and corporate and business matters. Mr. Baker is also a frequent lecturer on estate planning and estate administration, serving as a faculty member for Pennsylvania Bar Institute programs and attending national estate planning seminars. He is an active member of the Washington County, Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations, as well as The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Mr. Baker is a past president of the Washington County Bar Association.

In addition to serving the legal profession, he is a dedicated member of the Washington County community. Mr. Baker has served as president of the Washington Rotary Club, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Easter Seals Society and the Friends of the Library of Washington (Pa.). He currently serves as Membership Standards Committee chairman of the Greater Pittsburgh Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Mr. Baker has held positions as advancement chairman and roundtable commissioner of the Catawba District, Greater Pittsburgh Council of the Boy Scouts of America and as a member of the Washington Hospital Planned Giving Committee. He is also one of the founders and president of the Washington Jazz Society. In 2006, the Greater Pittsburgh Council of the Boy Scouts of America honored him with the Silver Beaver Award for distinguished service to the Council.